rain, rain, rain, rain, rain

We just returned from a trip visiting my parents and family in Austria. From before we arrived, there was rain there, every day. For all 4 weeks that we were there, there was rain everyday, on and off mostly all day. It is cold, when it rains in Austria! Some mornings we had only 5C (40F). During the day, the temperature hardly ever reached 20C (68F). That’s very cold for my body, who’s used to temperatures in the 30s (above 86F)!

I mentioned to my family that in Panama we hardly ever have a day that is raining on and off all day. Well, I guess, I jinxed it! 

Since we arrived last Friday evening, as usual for the season - from about mid April to about mid December is the not-dry season here - it rained every day. And, as also usual for the season, we had sun in the morning, and rain only in the afternoon. But today, we got rain on and off all day!

Ready, able, and willing - only thing missing: customers…

For me that’s not a problem! i love the sound of the rain! And it’s by far not as hot than when it’s sunny. But i feel for the few tourists n town. For them it’s a day of their vacation…

But, hey, maybe tomorrow we get some sun again! Yeay!

So you found yourself in an existential crisis?

 So you found yourself in an existential crisis as your job is no longer available? 

So sorry about that! But also so glad about it!

Sometimes we need a crisis to kick us out of our tracks, and “motivate” us to look up and look around. 

A job crisis like this helps us realize that we’re so much more than our work! That we were not born to just be the wheel in the corporate world we are so desperately trying to be. And that there is so much more to life than (paid) work.

During the pandemia i got stuck in Europe for 6 months and was without a job. It was shocking at first, but with time more and more beautiful and eye opening!!! 

I realized how wonderful (in the literal sense: full of miracles) it is to be able to do what needs to be done, rather than what i ought to do to make money!

I also realized, that retiring in Panama is possible right away, due to low cost of living and the highly affordable real estate there; while i would have to continue to work 10 more years to retire in the US. 

So now I’m living happily in Santa Catalina, Veraguas (a fishing village turned surfers’ paradise). 

Aside of not having to endure any more cold winters, nor office politics, nor the danger of getting shot at the next mass shooting, i am now able to focus on fulfilling my purpose in this world and being the change-agent i was born and shaped to be.

We humans are no longer system perpetuators, like all the animals and plants. We are the changers! Through us this world continues to change and develop. 

Yes, we still have to do our “animal-duties” to survive and exist in this system. 

So, yes, we need to work and make money to survive, support our children, save for when we can no longer work. And our talents and passion, our knowledge and awarenesses, and our life-experiences that shape us, all enable us to get a demanding but well paid job. 

But, there are also many tasks that need to be done in this world, that do not get paid in money. These are up to be tackled by us lucky ones, who had a well paid job for many years. 

I am convinced that for many (if not most) of us the work we do in the corporate world is not our life’s purpose, is not the reason why we came into this world. Rather, it allows us to get to the point where we can stop focusing on animal tasks, and dedicate our lives to “higher causes”.

Unfortunately, too many continue with the animal-chores for way too long, and never get to make their real contribution to this creation. They hord money and status until they die or alzheimers releases them by force... 

So you found yourself in an existential crisis as your job is no longer available? 

So sorry about that! But also so glad about it!

I wish you much success in reevaluating your life, identifying your passion, figuring out your life’s real purpose, and becoming the change-agent your soul was hoping to be in this world when it chose to incarnate in you!

Temperature comfort…

We just came back from La Concepción. There, the temperature was 28C (82F). 

By the time we got up to the first village, El Santo, the temperature dropped to 24C (76F). 

Further along in Santa Rosa it was 22C (72F). 

And up here at home in Camarón Arriba it is comfortsble 21C (70F).

A perfect evening to enjoy the hammock…

Even during the day and with the sun out it doesn’t heat up above 30C. On the terrace in the shade under the roof there’s always a little breeze, which makes it really very comfortable - no need for an a/c!

Can’t wait for the construction to be finished so we can enjoy the place, before it sells…

Yes, after all that effort and elbow grease and loving attention I’m still going to sell this home to kind and loving people!

Kind and loving, because who wants neighbors who are not kind and loving?🤪

Well, all in all, this truly is paradise for us…

Moving my household to Panama - the last step in the emigration-process

Over the course of our lives we collect "stuff". Some of that stuff is easy to get rid of, there's no emotional connection. Other stuff is easy to leave behind, as it is easy to replace, if needed again. But some we want to retain...

In my case, I trimmed down as much as I could. But I still had a 3m by 3m (10 x 10 ft) storage unit full of items. Mostly, they were tools, books, DVDs and CDs, and memorabilia - a picture we had bought in India and which Suzanne had framed for me for my birthday, a wooden relief I bought when living in Tobago, photo albums, and similar items.

A week ago I came back to the USA to prepare these items to be shipped to Panama.

I contacted several moving companies in the US, but received quotations that were way beyond what I was able and willing to pay. The worst was 25,000$! When I looked in Panama, I found a customs broker who provided a reasonable quotation, and who was able and willing to answer all my questions. And questions I had many - I'm not doing this kind of thing every other week, so I'm not familiar with the process! 

RS Aduanas offered to provide a 20ft container, have it delivered to the storage facility, where I could load it up, then transport it to Panama, arrange for the customs process, and have it transported on to my new home in far distant rural Panama (10 hr drive with passenger car from the port) - all for about 5,400$. What a difference!

Panama customs requires a detailed list of all the items that are being shipped. So I had to go through everything, open every box to see what's in it, and inventorize everything.

Originally, I thought I'd rent a second storage unit just for a week, into which to move items that I already added to the list. However, the storage company wanted to charge me a full month's rent. Their offer of 1$ for the first month had a * next to it, and the fine print allowed them to exclude just exactly the unit I needed! They wanted 200$!

During one of my sleepless nights the idea occurred to rent a Penske truck instead. (Penske, BTW, is a much better company to use than UHaul! Penske gives you a quote and you pay what they quote. UHaul always adds many other fees afterwards, and when paying you get hit with a much higher amount than originally quoted and expected. Penske you can trust! UHaul you can trust to charge you way more in the end!)

Turns out, renting a 16ft truck for 5 days was just 150$. In addition, loading everything into the truck had several other advantages:

First of all, I can back up the truck all the way to my unit, and loading is much easier than carrying everything across the storage facility to another unit. Secondly, loading the truck means I'm already lifting everything 1.2m onto the truck bed, so getting it into the container will be just 30cm (1 ft)  more. And, the best part, I'm not tied to the storage facility anymore. That facility would make life of the trucker very difficult, to back into it and park the truck so the gate can safely close. If some other renter arrives, we might have to move the truck out again, and back in all over again...

Using the truck, I was able to redirect the truck to the motel where I was staying and move the load there.

Yeay! Everything in the truck - 4 hours, including making the list!

I was very concerned about how much effort it would be to take everything out of the unit and create the list. But, it took us only 4 hours to get that part accomplished!

My dear friend Cherryl had taken off the day from work to help me with this process. That woman worked like I would have expected a hired college hunk to work!!! Even the ultra heavy Bosch washing machine we were able to roll up the ramp into the truck using the dolly. 

I had booked the motel for 4 days, expecting to need at least 2 or 3 days. But, we got it all done before I even checked in! Well, I had a few days where I could try to source a few other items I had on my list, which are not available in Panama.

So much crap!!!! 😖

In case you end up near Elkton MD one day and need a motel, I would like to put in a plug for the Sunrise Inn where I stayed. It is a lovely old motel, like out of a 60s movie. Nicely restored and operated by a family. I found the room to be clean and very spacious, the rate affordable, the mattress to be comfortable, and the nights to be nice and quiet...

So, yesterday the container came. This time we loaded it in 1 1/2 hours! Well, The driver was a very friendly and helpful man! We connected well, as he's originally from Haiti, Cherryl from Jamaica, and I used to live in Tobago... He, a true gentleman, didn't want Cherryl to deal with the heavy stuff and helped me with it.

Darn! There's so much space for more stuff!!! 😝 

Well, we were done before noon, and the container went on its way! Yeay!

Off you go! Have a nice trip! See you in Chiriquí, your new home...

Now there's only my Prius left. I am planning on dropping that off on Friday at the Baltimore harbor for Roll-On-Roll-Off shipping.

Then I have no more physical ties to the US. Only emotional ones to the friends I made there... Next week on Tuesday, I'm flying back to my new home country. If Iris should get a visa, we might come back to the US to visit my friends. But I won't "have to" return anymore...

Whao! The second volume of my life, from age 30 to almost 60, is now about to be finished! The third volume, the autumn of my life in Panama, has started! I'm excited to see what experiences it will bring. So far it was very, very nice! And with Iris in my life, I think this third chapter will be amazingly wonderful...

Getting the panama drivers license

Another silly wrinkle in the bureaucracy!

You can not apply for a Panama driver's license as long as you don't have an at least temporary residency. But, as soon as you have it, your foreign driver's license is no longer valid!

So, in theory, you can drive yourself to the Immigration Services building to receive your residency, but you can not leave driving yourself... 

So how do you get a Panama driver's license?

There are two options:

a) you get your foreign driver's license transcribed

b) you start from scratch applying for the Panama driver's license like a local teenager does

Why would you even consider starting from scratch?

Well, to transcribe your foreign license, you have to get it notarized by your consulate. Then you have to get a certified translation. And have it approved by the Panama Ministry for Foreign Affairs. After that, you simply go to the licensing office (SERTRACEN) and they give you your Panama Driver's License.

That works well for europeans (i heard from friends), probably for canadians as well. However, for US citizens this option is very unattractive (to use a kind word).

Why? The US State Department is totally for the birds! I only had to deal with them 3 times in my life, and every time they surprised me with how inefficient, incapable, and useless they are!!!

This is one of those three times.

As soon as I got my residency, I tried to get an appointment with the consulate to notarize my US license (Yes! You have to get an appointment! You can't just go there, as with other countries' consulates!), but they didn't have an appointment available for 2 (TWO!!!) months!

That means, for more than two months I would have to use buses and taxis, even though I have a car and am perfectly capable to use it. Secondly, I have to either spend a day and pay 300$ for airline tickets to travel from Chiriqui back to Panama City to visit the consultate, and fly back in the evening. Or I could spend 30$ for bus tickets plus 30$ for two nights in hotel and spend three days for the same task.

Makes no sense!

So how to go about getting a Panama Driver's License from scratch?

First, you need to go to a driving school and apply for a student's license certificate. That costs 60$ and takes about 15 days. But don't worry, you don't have to take any classes, or driving lessons! It's just a bureaucratic step.

While you're waiting, you can practice the theory test questions. There are two sites of interest:

Here's the link to the list of 133 questions in english, and here's the link to the page with the practice test. (Click on REALIZAR TEST to start the test). You can take the practice test as often as you like. Most of the answers are quite logical. Some are just something you have to learn by hard...

Once you have your certificate, you can make an appointment with SERTRACEN, and go there to take the tests. The driving school makes that appointment for you.

You have to take two tests: 

The theoretical test is on a computer. You get 10 questions out of the 133 questions. You have to get at least 7 answers right.

Then there's a practical test - in David it is on a sectioned off part of the parking lot at Federal Mall (inside which SERTRACEN is now, since Chiriqui Mall burnt down). That test consists of three tasks: You have to parallel park, park perpendicular going in nose first, and park perpendicular going in backwards. You have about 2 minutes for each of the three tasks, and you have a lot of space. So, for anybody who's been driving for a little while already, these tasks should be fairly easy - no, VERY easy - to accomplish!

Note, for the practical test you need to bring a car, they don't have any rentals available. Secondly, you HAVE to be alone in the car, and nobody is allowed to be close to the parkinglot section where the test is taking place (taking a video or just watching). You gotta be totally on your own there...

Obviously, I chose the second option to get my Panama Driver's License. I was very worried about it: how difficult will the theory be? Will my Spanish be sufficient? What are they requiring for the practical test?

But, it turned out to be not a big deal at all. I took the test (and practiced the test) in Spanish, and it was quite doable even with my very limited Spanish skills...

Well, I just hope I will never need anything from the US state department! And I am very glad I do have my Panama residency and Panama driver's license. Yeay! Step by step the bureaucratic hurdles are taken... 

Ausgemustert - Out of service

I read a newspaper article today in the Salzburger Nachrichten, reporting on an exhibition of photographs with old folks, who have been sent to nursing homes and are basically just waiting there for the end of their life.

It made me very thoughtful!

Ausgemustert - Out of Service!

I'm heading there, too. Or am I there already? I retired. I stopped working for money. I am no longer pursuing my career as software engineer.  am no longer in service the way I used to be!

There are quite a few older expats in the area where I moved to. All but one, actually, are retired. 

But, we're by no means "just waiting to die"!  

View of Pacific from 700m above sea-level - the road passing my home leading to town

The one expat neighbor who's still in her 40s had moved her mom here during the pandemia. The reason was exactly this: her mom was shutting down more and more. From each video call to the next she noticed the decline of her mother. Until it was more than she could take and she picked her up from the nursing-home in the US and brought her to live with her here in Panama. In the two years her mom is now living here her decline not just stopped, but turned around! She is now full of life again, enjoying walking in the large park like garden, singing karaoki, delighting in the food - much of it fresh from the garden. What a difference!

For the retirees of us it's about the same: we are all enjoying our time here on this planet. Panama makes it possible - no matter what condition we're in! While we're still agile enough we can work our own garden, explore the beautiful country, delight in reconnecting with nature. If the garden is too big, or cooking is not our thing, or there's anything else that needs to be done and we're not up to it for whatever reason, there are many people around here, who love to take care of these tasks for us. And it does not brake the bank!

Instead of paying 7,000$ a month for assisted living, here you can hire a live-in caretaker for 1,000$, should you need one. 

Instead of being fully dependent on the grocery store half of the year, here your garden bears fruits and vegetables and roots all year round. You decide how organic you want your food to be. 

Otoe - a root vegetable like yucca - also just 7 months old 

My neighbor and gardener Carlos planted these banana trees about 7 months ago

Instead of feeling out-of-service in the sense of "cast aside", "locked away", here you can feel out-of-service in the sense of no longer having to work. 

Instead of feeling abandoned and lonely and disconnected, here you can reconnect with nature, be taken care of as much or as little as you want or need, and - if you treat your neighbors and caretakers nicely - be integrated again in a village life!

Even more! You can be the window to the world for the neighbors' kids. Through you, they - and their family - get a chance to get to know about another culture, get introduced to different ideas and approaches, and get inspired to learn, grow, and be open for the world!

What a difference! 

There the rest of your life is just wasting away. Here, you are making a difference to your last breath!

There you are a problem. Here you are appreciated and part of a solution!

My neighbor's son loves to hang out with us. Soon he'll start learning english in school. He'll get plenty of opportunity to practice with us!

If you want more information about various topics, here are links to my blog posts about: residency options, learning spanish, the climate, locally grown food. For any other questions, you can ask in a comment, and I'll try to answer or point you to where you can find more information.

Financially, here's the summary: if you're retired you need a pension of 1,000$ (1,250 for you and your partner).  If you're not yet retired, you can invest 130,000$ in a reforestation project for your residency. If you want to buy a comfortable real estate, you can get something very nice for 150,000$. Or you can rent something nice for under 1000$/month. So, financially it is very feasible for almost anybody in Europe, the US, or Canada, Australia, and such... 

If you want to come for a visit to see how it suits you, chat me up, I'll help you plan and arrange if you like... For me, now was the time to be adventurous, but in a safe way. How about you? 

Thoughts about learning another language - Spanish

Once it became clear that I'd be retiring in a country where English is not the main language, I went back to school to get a certificate in teaching english as a second language at University of North Georgia (A great program, by the way...) 

Among the things I learned was the (not so) new approach of "acquiring a language", rather than the old style of "learning about a language".

I learned english and french the old style while in business highschool in Austria. Now, I'm in the process of "acquiring" Spanish, as I am living in Panama. 

I started with Duolingo and Babbel. That gave me a nice little foundation. Interesting, by the way the difference between the two apps: Duolingo is by an American company and Babbel by a German. 

Duolingo is 99.9% "acquiring" and almost zero knowledge "about" the language. Works well - to a degree - but (at least to me) becomes more and more difficult as the skills improve.

Babbel is (by my estimation) 80% acquiring, and 20% background information about the language. To me, Babbel was an excellent complement to Duolingo - once I had acquired a little foundation with Duolingo, Babbel allowed me to reach the next step.

I would say, based on my experience (which means, my style of learning, my (non-)talent for languages, and such), Duolingo by itself wouldn't work for me to get proficient. Babbel by itself might work for proficiency. But, Duolingo and Babbel in combination work the best - for me!

So, if you are trying to learn any new language, I can only highly recommend to try both apps. Start with Duolingo, as it does not have a time constriction for the free version like Babbel does. And after a while try out the free week (month?) of using Babbel. (Just make sure you have plenty of time do maximize the time you can spend with Babbel during that period!) Then decide for yourself whether to pay for the one or the other or both apps; or whether to continue without the support of either...

Well, in my case: Trying to manage the construction of a home requires communicating a lot with local workers. So within a month or two, my Spanish has improved a lot from the Duolingo and Babbel foundation. Especially the vocabulary increased - I added a lot of words around construction, of course. And also I "acquired" certain phrases to the point where they became automatic... 

Now, I can mostly explain what I want my workers to do, and inquire about why they do what they do the way the do, and solicit their thoughts and opinions on various challenges.

However, I have pretty much zero understanding of grammar. I know almost nothing ABOUT the language. 

I find this makes my continuing progress much, much harder!

I now think, based on my own experience, that a combination of the "old style" and the "new style" would bring the best results. Start by acquiring, after a while catch up on grammar, and most of all, continue to "just do it" - speak the language everywhere and anywhere and all the time!

Well, if studying grammar wasn't so damn boring and hard it would be the best for me to now put a lot of focus on just that! If only I wasn't so lazy... 

Planning my new home

 I have come to decide on two potential properties among which I'll choose "the one"! Both of them are land without buildings. I'll build my own home.

The disadvantage is, that I'll have to rent somewhere until the home is ready for me to stay in. However, this disadvantage has no teeth, since Kyle's Bugaba Highland guestroom is super nice, and close to where I'll be building.

The advantage is, that I can try out all kinds of ideas!

Most likely, I'll get a piece of land in an area where it is a bit warmer, but not as hot as in David, or on the coast. That means, I might be able to get by without air-conditioning - if I am careful about heat management.

I think I want to have the roof open on the very top for the whole length of the house. On top of that gap I'll add 50cm higher another roof that covers the opening. That way, it doesn't rain in, but hot air raising to the top of the house can exit and doesn't build up under the roof.

Secondly, I'll only have the bed- and attached bathrooms walled in, and bug proof. Once the sun goes down, one retreats inside to turn the light on. Bugs, attracted to the light, will stay outside. 

The kitchen will be an outside kitchen, which together with the living space makes up the big terrace under the roof. About 3/4 of the space under the house's roof is terrace and kitchen! Mosquitoes are not so much a problem in this area, neither are there any sort of dangerous animals, from which one has to protect oneself. 

There's an outside kitchen on the big terrace under the roof here at Kyle's. I've been using it for 3 months now, and it was awesome! I'm always outside. Except in the evening, when I need light or when I am sleeping - then I'm inside of the room which the insect screen makes bug-free.

The locals are building everything with blocks and concrete. Well, that is easy to do, and is pretty much resistant to any kind of weather or condition - except earthquakes. The problems I do see with this - aside of the earthquakes - is, that any repairs or changes are very hard to do. You have to employ a jack-hammer. Secondly, due to the high humidity all the time, you have to repaint all walls every 2 or three years. And, stone feels dead and emotionally cold.

I am going to be owning 2 1/2 ha of teak plantation, where every 4-5 years some of the trees have to be removed, to make more light available for the remaining trees. That means, every couple of years I'll be having a ton of teak wood, with which I would need find something meaningful to do. Teak is a rather insect and rot resistant hard-wood. So, I am thinking of trying to build the walls (and ceilings) in my house out of my own lumber. Even the frame that holds the roof could be made from this lumber.

I still have to figure out how I get the trees from the plantation to my land, and how to transform them from logs to lumbar. Maybe I contract this task out to one of the many small sawmills in the area. Or maybe I'll bring a bandsaw and do it myself... But, that will show, too... 

People around here have problems with lightnings taking out various electronic equipment, even appliances. I want to learn about lightning-rods, and hopefully install a lightning-rod that will protect my and my neighbors homes.

The windows used around here are very low quality, do not keep bugs out reliably, and can only be opened to have 45% of the window space be open. They are sliding windows - mostly sliding side-ways. So more than half of the opening is blocked by the sashes.

I would like to try to build my own windows. There are two types I'm thinking of:

* Sliding sideways onto the wall space besides the window

* Tilting upwards and secured on the ceiling

Both windows would have the frame with the glass not be inside of the window-opening. Instead, there would be a frame with insect-netting there (removable, off course; so it's easy to fix when needed). The frame with the glass would be on the inside of the room, sliding along the wall with the window-opening, and slightly bigger than the opening. So, when closed, it is pressed against the window-frame, not inside of the window-frame.

The tilting window would require ropes and pulleys to make it easy to open and close the window. 

For both types I need to think about how to best lock them, for when 'm leaving the hosue cannot be broken into too easily.

The goal of these windows is to get as much air circulation as possible into the rooms! Air circulation seems to be the only measure that prevents mold and mildew buildup.

I want to install wall-mount toilets and vanities. The cost for such toilets is much higher - probably 1500$ a piece, compared to 150$ for a floor mount one. But, I feel, it is worth it over time to be able to easily clean the floor of the bathroom. Wall mount vanities are not easy to find either. But, I thnk I should have enough wood to be able to build them myself.

There won't be bathtubs - to me just a waste of hot water! - instead there'll be only showers. Those, however are roomy - maybe 150 cm by 180 cm (5' x 6'). The floor of the bathroom is about 5 cm (2") lower than the rest of the house, and it is slightly sloped towards the shower drain. That way, I can simply hose down the floor and be done with it!

The local septic systems don't even deserve that name! They are basically a container with an incoming pie and an outgoing pipe. Everything falls in on the one side, and sits there. Once the container fills up, whatever is too much runs out the other side.

I want to do a better system. I'm thinking of implementing a three chamber tank, which then empties in a holding tank, from which the fluid is discharged periodically via a mini flashflood onto a vertical-style clearing field. The water draining out of that clearing field should almost be drinking water quality. So, it should be safe to use in the garden for watering, or when it gets into a river.

Also, I would like to collect and treat rain-water. No chemical or energy using treatment, but simple, natural filtering.

The system consist of three tanks: First tank simply collects the rain water. It is a buffer. It discharges water through a smallish pipe (5cm, 2"?) into the second tank. That one is filled with gravel and sand, similar to the clearing field. The microbes developing in that filter will clean out most of the stuff that's in the water (like bird-poop and other stuff that the rain finds on the roof). The bottom of this tank now drains into the third, the actual water holding tank.

I'm hoping to use this water for showers, toilet, and garden watering.

The hot water for the showers I'm planning on heating using some sort of solar-collectors on top of the roof. Currently, I'm thinking a simple hose laid in serpentines on the roof should suffice. I'll have to play with how big a hot water tank I'll need, and how much hose is needed to reliably heat the whole tank.

There are many more details to be thought through: exact makeup of the walls, how and where to but the wiring, how to get the heavy lumbar for the house frame in place (there seem to be no cranes like in Europe, and everything is done manually), and much more... Since I am not building the typical, traditional style, there are no common best practices available. That means, I have to think up everything - from the overall big-picture ideas, down to the very gory details...

A lot of brain work. But also a lot of fun!

Getting our appetite wet to finalizing the decision

Getting prepared by coincidents and experiences

I first contemplated retiring abroad when we visited Kerala - the southern most state in India. There, food and accommodations are very inexpensive (for somebody who had their job in the US or Europe), the mountains are absolutely gorgeous, the climate is very agreeable for me, and the food - well, "out of this world" is an understatement!

As so often, when your mind finally is opened for things to come, the things came!

First, my dear Friend Nancy told me about her neighbor retiring to Boquete, Panama. A few days later, another dear friend, Venus, sent me a link to International Living, coincidentally also for Panama. 

Now, that website is a mess!!! It makes everything look so easy, and desirable, and affordable, and plain out beautiful - how can one not get all excited? Of course, it is their business - so they make it sound beautiful, as it is their livelihood to keep people sign up for their "guided retirement tours" or use them for real estate transactions, and whatever other way thy figured out to make money off of interested folks...

Yet, despite the fact that their intentions are of a different nature than ours, it was a good start to wet our appetite and to get basic information about many places in the world.

Scouting out our options

We decided to start visiting those countries that are high on our list. Among them Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, and Panama. India doesn't have a visa that makes retiring there possible. Tobago - one of my favorite islands in the Caribbean - is beautiful, but way to expensive for us to afford it (similar to most other Caribbean Islands).

Of all the places we visited (on vacation at some time along the way, or during our scouting trips), Panama was special. After only a few days, Suzanne mentioned that she really, really liked the country, especially the rural areas outside of Panama City. And I felt the same way! So we decided to make it our goal to move there as soon as it makes sense for us to do so.

Another coincident preparing me more

Then Covid hit, and got us stranded at my parent's place in Austria!

What a great coincidence - another one in the string that prepared me for this! My mom cooks every day! We got used and hooked to delicious, home-cooked meals. My sister taught me how to bake my own bread. Not being able to leave the home much, we soon adopted my parents' daily rhythm. I experienced for 1/2 year how it would be if I were retired. Doing little projects, enjoying home-cooked meals, resting, walking the dogs, every now and then meeting some friends or other family... Life was awesome! By far one of the best times in my life - despite the Covid scare and restrictions!

Holding on to retirement-lifestyle (tooth and nail!)

Back in the states, I longed for the great way of life we just experienced. So I started to cook instead of eating out. I am baking my own bread (haven't bought a loaf in over a year by now!). And instead of going straight back to software engineering, I started working on our new old house. We had just bought it before our Panama trip and had completed most of the demolition. The rebuilding was left to do.

I thought, I could continue similar to how I lived in Austria. After breakfast work a little. After lunch have a siesta. And in the afternoon - well, either work some more, or write, or visit friends... 

Almost falling back into old ways

In April I thought enough home-fixing-upping, let me get a SW engineering project again. Make some dough! 

I applied for a couple of positions and got to where an offer was imminent. However, many things came in between that delayed the actual start. And, over time, it became clear to me, that I really could and should retire now! What sense does it make to work another year or two or ten, just to make more money, when I could get by and be happy with what I have saved up already - as long as I am not splurging?

I am free now!

So, I withdrew my name from the job, and put the wheels in motion to leave by autumn 2021.

I'll describe the visa options in my next post... For now, let me just ask you: do you prefer to work longer or to live on less money per month? What are your fears or concerns about retiring, and what are your hopes or plans?

Panama visa options - and how they apply to my situation

 Panama offers several visa options for US, Canadian, and European (and some other) citizens:

Friendly Nations Visa

Citizens of "friendly nations", who purchase real estate for 200,000$ can apply for a 2-year temporary residency, And after that, they can apply for the permanent residency. It used to be 100,000$, but the law was just amended (as of mid August 2021) to now require 200K.

Digital Nomad Visa

Folks who can work remotely can do so in Panama. With this visa, they are allowed to perform their work in Panama, and can stay up to 90 days.

Pensionado Visa

If you receive at minimum 1,000$ (plus 250$ per dependent, like wife)a month in retirement income you can apply for this visa. You're not allowed to work in Panama. But you can live there, you can import your household goods, and you can import a new car every 2 years tax free.

Reforestation Visa

Panama is making serious steps to aiding the reforestation within the nation. One such step is this visa. If you invest 80,000$ in a government approved reforestation project you get a 2 year temporary residency. After that you can apply for permanent residency, but must prove for 5 more years that you are still holding and maintaining the reforestation investment.

Visitor's Visa

There are several other visa types available, but they are not really useful for me (or any US, canadian, or european) - except, of course, the regular tourist visa. Coming from these nations, you need no visa to enter the country, and get approved for 6 months.

Once the visa expires, you have to leave the country. But can return soon thereafter for another full period. There are several expats living in Panama that way - usually, if they can't get any other visa, mostly due to having blemishes on a criminal record, or - well, my case (see below)... 

As with everything, the devil lies in the details!

How these visas apply to me:

Pensionado Visa - my first choice

According to Miranda and Contreras - one of the best known law offices in Boquete - the immigration authorities do not like to give this visa if you have a private pension, which is exactly what I have. In order for them to consider a private pension, they require a letter from the company whose private pension it is - so, some large corporation or something. I don't have that, since it is my own savings. EVen though it is an annuity, which is potentially paid until the end of my life, that is not accepted by the immigration authorities.

Thus, this visa is not an option for me until I am drawing social security - which I hope to be delaying until after I'm 67.

Friendly Nations Visa

Buying property in the US is no big deal, since you can easily sell it again, if you don't like it. In Panama this is different. There, it is easily possible for a property to be on the market for years! So, I have to be very careful when choosing what to get - and don't want to just get "something", just so I can apply for that visa! 

Aside of that, 200K is more that I had hoped to have to spend on my new home! I'm not interested in a condo in Panama City, or any of the expat tourist beaches. The properties I am interested are below 200K. So I would have to buy something additional. But, what can you buy for 50K? 

Well, for now, this visa is also not an option for me. Maybe, once I found my property it becomes applicable - but for now, this doesn't work for me.

Reforestation Visa

The total cost of the investment would be about 100K. 80K for the property, and 20K for the maintenance of the project for the 8 years it takes to get the permanent visa. 

Reforestation is one of my potential dream projects - however, doing it myself, rather than financing somebody else to do it. Also, I don't have enough savings to spend 100K for the visa and still have enough to get a home, and to live on for a few years.

So, this visa is also a no-go for me. At least for the moment...

Visitor's visa

So, the only visa left viable for me is the visitor's visa. The biggest disadvantage, of course, is that I can not have my household goods shipped until I get any of the other visas. But, I guess, I can import the most important stuff every time I come back.

I would like to visit my parents at least once a year - so there goes my first exit-reentry scenario already. Secondly, I might want to visit some friends in the US or in other places, or travel to some other countries that are still on my bucket-list - there goes my second exit-reentry instance for the year. So, the 6 month restriction isn't much of a big deal for me... Let's see, if there's another devil hiding somewhere in these details! 😝

 For now, I just trust in the Universe, that things will arrange the way it is best for me. And I am curious how everything will pan out - and WHAT will pan out...

Free as a bird - but what direction to choose?

During my June trip to Panama I firmed up my decision to not go back to work (at least for now), but to retire early. I have a little money left from the sale of the house last year, and a condo in Atlanta, which I am planning on selling next year. Together, the funds should suffice to buy a little property and sustain my life until I can start drawing my retirement annuity in two years. Together, it should allow me to postpone drawing SS until I am 67 (maybe longer, maybe not quite as long).

So, in essence, if I am very thrifty for a few years, I can retire now, and start working on my dream already!

Yeay!

But, wait! Which of my dreams? 

There are several options that sound absolutely awesome to me! I now have to make a very hard decision which of the possible lives I would want to lead.

1. Reforesting a piece of land

We hear about vast areas of land being deforested every day all around the globe. But there are also reports of reforestation projects. Panama, for example, has the declared goal of reforesting 1 million hectares ( 2.5 mill acres) by 2035. This is a report (in German) about a retiree in Turkey, who converted a landfill into a forest. And, of course, there's the awesome story of the photographer Sebastião Salgadoand his wife in Brazil.

I LOVE trees! The idea of buying a finca with a couple of hectares of former forest now (probably degraded) pasture, and spending my retirement years just planting trees, fills my heart with joy!

I've done some online searches and there appear to be properties of a reasonable size and price available. So, this is definitely a feasible option. 

2. English tutoring for locals

English is the de facto lingua franca. Any knowledge available in this world today is available in English. Some of the knowledge is available in German too, some in French, some in Chinese, and so on. But, for every other language it is only a part of the information that is available. Also, with most of international cooperations and projects, english is the common language that is being used.

I think, for any kid in this world today, who does not speak english, the world is not open. I was able to make something with my life by having been able to migrate from my home country to the US. Today, migrating is not necessary anymore - as long as there's internet and the ability to communicate in English, there are possibilities!

I've overheard some university level english classes, where the teachers had a terribly strong accent, and made many mistakes. I could imagine that on highschool level and even more so primary school level, the quality of english education is even less. Having access to another person to practice and experience is very important!

I do not like cities, but prefer rural areas. As everywhere, in rural areas it is even harder for locals to find good english tutoring options. Also, there seems to be a two class society, where indigenous folks get less opportunities than citizens of european, asian, or north-american descent. 

So, I think, I could make a real difference by offering english tutoring, especially to indigenous kids. 

Tutoring english has been on my mind for a while. I took an ESL Teacher certification program at University of North Georgia 2 years ago, already in preparation of this idea - offering english conversation and general language tutoring to locals.

This, too, is a very feasible option, that also warms my heart.

3. "my conversations"

I find myself very, very often in a situation, where the insights I have been given over my life-time are of great interest to people who just happen to show up in my life. Be it as seat neighbors in an airplane, at a coffee-house, on social media, in a park... anywhere, any time!

Going to Panama in June I anticipated not being able to have any conversations like this, due to the language issue. However, I soon realized that this concern was unwarranted! 

My first stay was at the Bhodi Hostel in El Valle de Anton. There I found a very diverse mix of nationalities and ages among the guests. And, plenty of instances where "my conversation" was happening.

It occurred to me, that if I were to organize a hostel then guests from all over the world could show up. I would be, essentially, "available" for the Universe to arrange for people to show up who need the information I'm able to provide.

Later, it dawned on me, that I don't even have to operate the hostel myself, but could just live close to a hostel, and every now and then, when I feel like it, go there for breakfast or dinner, and make myself available that way.

El Valle is a lovely town, and at a perfect elevation - temperature-wise. It has a great market and supermarket, it's very quiet and peaceful (off the main-street; but even on the main-street the traffic is nothing to worry about). 

There are several homes and properties for sale there. I found one online, which looks promising. So, this, too, is quite a feasible option.

As of now, I have no clue which of these options it will be. I keep flipping back and forth between them! 

I guess, it will clarify once I go back to Panama. As I always recommend to folks: let the Universe guide! Instead of me firming up plans based on my thoughts and knowledge (which is, of course, less than a fruit-fly poop spec!), be open minded and on the lookout for what is coming my way!

I love to ponder ideas, and to know what I am working towards, and then getting to work on it! Right now, I can't do that, as I have no clue what I'll end up doing. That makes it very difficult for me! On the other hand, there are so many loose ends I have to tie up where I am, that if I can focus on working on those, I'd soon be really free as a bird! 

So, I guess, I'll just do that: get my stuff here together and settled. Soon enough, I'll be in Panama again, and things will develop...

PS: For those of you, who do not know about my world-view (which is guiding all my life decisions and goals): it is explained here